Kingdom Hearts: Off The Grid
by ShadowDragon94
Summary: Records are valuable when trying to keep pieces of a major puzzle together, but that changes with someone altering the details of Jiminy's Journal. Now, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Roxas, and Namine have to brave the digital world to find out who or what is altering the entries, and possibly deal with another bout of insanity on a new level. {Story #10 in The World Tree Series}
1. Chapter 1: Jiminy's Journal

_**Disclaimer:**_ _ **All original titles, plotlines, characters, settings, abilities, weaponry, and events belong to Disney Interactive & Square Enix. I hold no rights whatsoever.**_

 _ **Claimer:**_ _ **Any OCs, Keyblades of my creation, worlds that do not appear in Disney (which I doubt there will be any except I entirely), belong to me. If you wish to use them, please just ask.**_

 _Also, if you have questions, or very long comments that are not pertaining to the chapter or story as a whole * after reading it, naturally* please PM ME! So that I can answer you correctly and in an orderly fashion._

Chapter 1: Jiminy's Journal

 **{October 3** **rd** **2013: Disney Castle Study: 8:30am}**

Sitting upon a desk in the vast study of the Disney Castle was one Jiminy Cricket. With his small blue top hat settled next to him, along with his trusty red umbrella, the little conscious had been examining his journals from a series of adventures that had come about in the past year and half. He smiled as he flipped a page and examined the words that had been written. There were more than two mere journals, but there was a very special one that contained all events to the letter, recorded magically as they transpired in his view from the shoulder of a thirteen-year-old boy with a key-shaped weapon. Sora Seiren, that was the boy's name, and he was now sixteen, living within the halls of Disney Castle with his friend Riku Hirigaya, and his girlfriend Kairi Misaki. However, there had been recent changes since the start of this year.

Sora and Riku had undergone the Mark of Mastery Exam in April, and it had turned dark in a terrible manner. Xehanort had done his best to corrupt Sora's pure heart, and had ultimately failed, despite having shattered the boy's heart and mind. Since then, Sora had been more jaded and cold in specific points, but he knew the boy had a reason for those behaviors, and in time, he would be able to heal. Nonetheless, more change had come roughly a month ago, when Sora, Riku, and Kairi had gone to Twilight Town, and returned with two teenagers. They were the newest Keyblade wielders: Roxas Lyster and Namine Olamayne. The two of them had begun training under Sora, who had gained his Mark of Mastery in April after the Dream Drop incident. Jiminy smiled again as he set to reading the first adventure Sora had gone through, and then paused as he looked to his last notes.

 _"So now we have taken two journeys. One to stop the darkness from spreading, and the other to put all lost hearts back where they belong. To tell the truth, neither one was easy, but I sure was glad to be the cricket to write down what happened. The two journeys, both sittin' quiet, right here in these books. But now, looks like the only thing left in one of 'em is a single page. Of course, maybe that's because they're the only words this book was meant to hold, and it's time to close it for good. But...who exactly is this mysterious person Sora mentioned? The one who helped him when Kairi, Riku, Donald, and Goofy went to save him?"_

"I wish someone would give us some answers around these parts. It would be good to know what exactly all this has to do with Sora and the others…." As Jiminy stated this, the secondary journal at his side that was laid open pulsed, causing the little cricket to look at the book.

"What in blue blazes…." Picking the journal up gently, he examined the pages, and then found a secondary entry.

 _"Their hurting will be mended when you return to end it"._

Jiminy put a hand to his head in confusion. He most certainly hadn't written the passage; it wasn't in his penmanship, and it was far too cryptic – he always preferred clarity to riddles – but because of those two key details, Jiminy Cricket, conscious of Pinocchio, knew that he needed to let King Mickey Mouse know of the trouble that was unraveling itself within his journals. Grabbing up the books, the little cricket put his top hat back on and grabbed his umbrella, before racing from the study to the King's private office as if he was running from a crow that thought he looked rather filling for a snack. The cricket bounded, jumped, and hopped as he ran towards the large door as fast as his small legs would carry him.

 **{King Mickey Mouse's Office: 8:50am}**

King Mickey Mouse read through a series of letters that were quite old, and rather close to him, as he thought of the sight he'd seen only a few days prior. Sora, with Donald, and Goofy's help, had taken Kairi, Riku, Roxas, and Namine on an adventure through the worlds he had traveled to during his first travel nearly two years prior. When they had left, most of them had been unsure of what to think, and once they'd returned, the teenagers were smiling, laughing, with a near glow of excitement upon their forms as they told Donald, Goofy, himself, Queen Minnie, and Daisy all about what Sora had showed them, and all their newest experiences. Since then, Roxas and Namine had gone back into heavy training via Sora's natural expertise with Keyblades, but they knew that there was so much more awaiting them outside of the halls of Disney Castle, and it had done exactly what Sora had so hoped it would: _it had inspired them._

As the King reminisced with the letters, and thought about the boost of energy that Roxas and Namine had received from the adventure, a tiny door opened in the large ones that lead to his office, and drew his attention to Jiminy racing to him at top speed. The King watched as the tiny series of steps that lead to his desk were cleared just as quickly as the floor was, and the cricket slumped, breathing harshly as he sat down two journals, and removed his hat and sat down his umbrella before sitting down himself to catch his breath before looking at the King.

"Y-Y-Your Majesty…" the mouse King frowned.

"Take a moment to get your breath, Jiminy; don't rush yourself," King Mickey stated.

"But this is… _important!_ " the King, and the conscious glanced to one another as the cricket righted himself and took in another deep breath, before looking at the journal on top of the one settled against the table.

"Is this about the journals?" the King asked.

"Yes, remember how I said there was a single entry I myself put in there that was Sora's recount of a person helping him out of the sleeping spell, when Kairi, Riku, Donald, and Goofy had went to rescue him?" the King nodded.

"There wasn't much to write, was there?" inquired King Mickey.

"No, in fact, it only covered a single page, front to back, which is nothing compared to what is normally written down, even though it was at the end of the journal...however, I was rereading the first journal recently, trying to see if I could figure out who this person was, and then the single-entry-journal pulsed, and a very mysterious new entry was put into it!" dark eyes looked the cricket over.

"A mysterious message?" the King questioned.

"Uh-huh. I certainly didn't write it. And you know I never once let the journal out of my sight. I don't know when anybody woulda had a chance to..." Jiminy paused.

"What does it say?" probed the King.

"Their hurting will be mended, when you come to end it." the cricket watched the King contemplate the statement.

"Hmm...Their hurting will be mended? Gosh, Jiminy. Sounds like somebody needs help and doesn't know what to do. Let's get to the bottom of this," the King suggested.

"Of course, but how? All of the other pages are completely blank now…" the cricket gave the journal to the King, and let him use his magic to grow it a bit larger before observing the pages, until he reached Sora's account of his aid in the dream world.

"This is the only other entry?" King Mickey questioned.

"Yes, I don't know what happened, because those pages were full prior to Sora being rescued back in January. Now, it only has that single entry about the person that helped Sora wake up, and now this one." The King flipped to the first page, where the words were written.

"Well, the words you wrote are gone, but that doesn't mean the journal is empty…we could find a way to get the information out some other way," the King stated.

"If it'll give us more clues, I'll take it! What do you have in mind?"

 **{9:30am: The King's Study}**

King Mickey, Jiminy, Donald, and Goofy were currently standing off to the side as Chip and Dale – the two technical wizzes within the castle – set up a large, computer-like object, and hooked in the journal to the contraption as they watched the two work, as they had for nearly an hour. For the time being, the King was thankful Sora had decided to move training outside for the day, and knew that once they were done, the group would be back to see what everyone was up to out of pure curiosity, but he sincerely wasn't sure what any of them would think about this situation. Taking in a deep breath, the King watched the two chipmunks work away as he stood next to the others.

"Do you know what they're up to?" asked Donald.

"Nope." Goofy shrugged in unsureness as he watched the two continue to work.

"Your Majesty! Everything's ready!" Chip said as he saluted the King.

"Your Majesty! What Chipper said!" Dale saluted the King as well, as they turned their attention back to the machine, and Chip jumped upon a yellow button on the table.

With a burst of smoke, the large computer, along with its several screens, came to life as Chip pulled a lever on the side, and a laser was directed to the first page of the journal within a chamber at the side of the computer. The others watched as Chip and Dale began to pull up readouts of the journal upon the main monitor, before a digital version of the journal appeared on the screen, and the pages began to flip, and flutter as various images of worlds appeared in different screens, before a siren of alert sounded, and a sharp, red light began blinking frantically on the machine. Within seconds black and red blocks appeared, covering the world images.

"Hey! What's goin' on?" asked Dale.

"Jiminy's journal…I think it's gone completely nuts!" the red-nosed chipmunk looked around.

"Nuts? Where?" the other rolled his eyes.

"That's not what I mean!" Chip declared as Dale took a step back.

"I don't know what's causing it exactly, but there's something wrong with the worlds inside the journal. And we can't analyze that message for you, either." The group stared at the screens in dismay.

"Hmm….isn't there something else we can try?" asked King Mickey. The two chipmunks began typing frantically at keys and searching for any clues that could help them.

"Gwarsh, if we could get in there somehow and fix the data, we could figure out what's wrong…" Chip paused.

"That's it! We could look for somebody inside the journal, and send in a few people to help them find what we're looking for!" he said in excitement.

"Once inside, they can explore the worlds and repair the data!" Dale stated.

"That's a great idea, Goofy!" King Mickey smiled at Goofy, who smiled and waved him off.

"Awh, Gwarsh, it's nothing…" he said.

"Somebody to explore the data from the inside….but who? And how?" Chip, and Dale glanced to one another.

"Well, there's an object one of our contacts from another world gave to us that transfers brainwaves into digital code, and allows the person to move around in the virtual system. Once they're inside, they can fight, and leave their bodies here, where we can monitor them while their minds explore the digital worlds with someone within the journal," Chip stated.

"Really? How many do you have?" Dale frowned.

"Only five, and they don't typically work well with animals," he informed them.

"So…we're stuck without…wait a second…" the King thought momentarily on his idea, before nodding to himself.

"Your majesty?" asked Donald.

"I need you and Goofy to go and get Sora, Kairi, Riku, Roxas, and Namine right now. Tell them this is urgent." Donald, and Goofy saluted.

"Very well, Your Majesty!" with that, the two of them dashed out of the room.

"You're going to send them into the journal?" questioned Jiminy.

"Sora and the others are our best bet. Chip, Dale? I need the two of you to get those devices you have, and hook them up for them to use."

"We're on it, Your Majesty!" the two saluted the King before dashing out of the room.

"Are you sure this is a good idea your Majesty? Sora and Riku may be dealt a harsh blow if they relive these events," Jiminy stated.

"I know, but they're our best bet. Roxas and Namine have never been on an adventure, but if we're going to fix the journal, and stop this from destroying the information you gathered, we'll have to run the risk." The cricket nodded.

"Alright, if you believe they'll be up for it, then I'll trust your judgment," Jiminy said.

 **{Palace Court Grove: East Side flat field: 10:25am}**

"That's the best you've got?" Sora rotated his Keyblade in his hand as he looked at Roxas. Kairi and Namine stood off to the side with Riku, who were playing the part of audience today, as Sora decided to give Roxas a little bit of one-on-one training in the style of a mock fight.

"No, but you're too fast," Roxas stated as he looked at the boy.

"I'm not even running, and I'm moving slower…seriously? You're not getting soft on me, are ya?" Sora looked the other over, and he glared.

"No!"

Roxas locked blades with the teen, and Sora jumped back before throwing him off as he shifted his Keyblade him his grip, and then hit him in the side with the blunt edge of the weapon. Roxas hissed as he jumped away, and Sora slung his Keyblade out before tightening his grip on it as he crouched. Kairi and Namine watched closely as Riku observed in curiosity at the boy's movements when he sprang forward and knocked the Keyblade from Roxas's grip, only to catch it moments later, and brace both Keyblades on either sides of Roxas's throat. The blonde gulped as Sora kept a stern eye on him for a moment.

"You lose your temper too easily when you get beaten down. Keep calm, reign it in, or you'll get hurt, or you'll cost someone their life," Sora stated.

"Dammit! How am I supposed to do that when I can only kill freaking plushies?!"

"Plushies are the things I dealt with when I was thirteen, Roxas, and while they're nowhere as deadly as what they could have been, they're still risky, and they get stronger. You've never faced Neo-Heartless which are stronger, faster, and twice as lethal, and you've never faced dusks, or Organization Thirteen. None of this is easy…not even the plushies…believe me," the chestnut-haired teen told the blonde as he gave him back his Keyblade.

"You got your first Keyblade back home, right?" asked Namine.

"Yea, on the Destiny Islands when they were under attack from the Heartless. That's where all this began…why ask?" the blonde shrugged.

"Well, I was curious because I wanted to know how you typically get Keyblades," she asked.

"I got a lot of the ones I have from helping out in the worlds we visited a few days ago. Jungle King, Crabclaw, Mysterious Abyss, Lady Luck – which now belongs to Kairi – the Olympia Keyblades, Hidden Dragon, Fairy Harp, which I got from Neverland, Wishing Star from Jiminy and Pinocchio, I got Three Wishes and Wishing Lamp from Princess Jasmine in Agrabah, and Spell Binder from Merlin the Blue Wizard, and a few others from people I know or places I've been…" Roxas felt his jaw slack a bit.

"You have a freaking arsenal!" he said.

"Um…kinda…some of those Keyblades don't really like me. Crabclaw and Mysterious Abyss aren't fond of me, and neither is Wishing Star or Photon Debugger. Come to think of it, Follow the Wind, Circle of Life, Fatal Crest, Jungle King, and Metal Chocobo aren't acting right when I try to use them lately, either…"

"Maybe it's because you're not their proper wielder anymore," Kairi suggested.

"Probably; they didn't exactly feel right in my grasp to begin with…" Sora flexed his right hand momentarily.

"They can change ownership like that?" asked Roxas.

"Yea, momentarily, Riku possessed the Silver Kingdom Key in Hollow Bastion, but it changed back to me when it realized my heart was stronger, and more pure." Namine looked him over.

"Pure…. _you're_ pure of heart?" Sora looked her over.

"Don't sound so surprised," he said.

"I'm not really, and I can see that, but you seem oddly cold at times for someone with such a pure heart." Sky-blue eyes rolled in annoyance.

"If you'd dealt with most of the insanity we've had for the last year and a half, you would understand the reason behind the slight change in personality…" Roxas looked him over.

"Your personality used to be different?" he questioned.

"Oh…yea…he was a little more lax about things, but he's also a practical joker!" Sora grinned, putting his arms behind his head.

"Maybe…" Sora stated with his teeth bared in a clearly cheeky grin. Riku narrowed his eyes a bit.

"Troll…"

"Gremlin..." sky-blue eyes narrowed.

"Imp."

"Elf."

"Hobbit!"

"And…here we are again…" Kairi said.

"This happen often?" aquamarine looked to pale blue and ocean blue.

"Well, kinda…Sora and Riku…."

"Dwarf!"

"Ogre…"

"Got anything better?" asked Riku.

"Only if you have half a brain, Scarecrow!"

"Shut up, Cowardly Lion!"

"That's rich, Tin Man!"

"Quit yapping, Toto!"

"Where's _your ruby slippers_ , Dorothy?" he said in a mocking tone.

"I…" Riku narrowed his eyes.

"I have a list of burn centers on hand near the Disney Castle…or do you need the one from the Emerald City, instead?"

"That had to be one painful burn…" muttered Roxas with a deadpan expression.

"Maybe I should get some ice for that, Riku." Kairi felt laughter bubble up as Namine and Roxas joined in.

"What is this? Pick on Riku day?" asked the silver-haired teen. Sora came over, and walked towards him with a calm expression as he rested an arm on Riku's shoulder – as best he could with his height – before smiling in his cheeky manner.

"Oh, sweet, naïve Riku…don't you know? Every day is pick on Riku day!"

"You little bastard….THAT'S IT!" Riku lunged at Sora, who cackled and took off running around the courtyard, with Riku right on his heels.

"What's the matter, Riku? I thought with that mane of yours, you'd be fast as a lion! Not a Chihuahua!"

"I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S THE CHIHUAHUA, YOU LITTLE FLEA!" the chestnut haired teen laughed again and ran faster.

"Well…this escalated quickly," said Namine.

"Na, what gave you that idea?" Roxas's expression showed a mixture of humor and discomfort as he watched the two teens run in circles around the courtyard.

"I SHOULD HAVE LET YOU STAY IN THAT DAMN CHAMBER!"

"I WOULD HAVE HAUNTED YOUR DREAMS, ANYWAYS!" Sora jumped out of the way, and Riku ran smack into a tree.

"Ouch…" the trio on the sidelines winced and cringed away from the sight as Riku got up and went after Sora again.

"I'LL GET YOU THIS TIME!" Riku glared.

"WHAT, DID YOU GET AN ACME SAFE RECENTLY, WILE E. CYOTE?"

"When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna…" Sora stretched his lips as he showed his teeth and crossed his eyes.

"Make that burn number two…of what degree?" asked Roxas as Namine pulled out her sketchpad.

"I'd call that a second degree burn…"

"You're keeping score?" asked Kairi.

"Why not? It's entertaining, at least…"

"I'm surrounded by trolls," Kairi muttered while shaking her head and looking at Sora, who was now sitting in a tree limb, with Riku glaring from below.

"Get down here, you little squirrel..."

"Sorry, but I'm not a nut," Sora stated.

"What the hell is up with you today?"

"You're just too much fun to mess with. Riku?" sky-blue looked to cyan.

"What?" he asked.

"Look out…" Riku looked around, and then Sora dropped down onto him. The two hit the ground, and Sora grinned broadly as he flipped off the silver-haired teen and took to running away as fast as he could.

"DAMN BRAT!"

"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, _GINGERBREAD MAN_!"

"THAT HAPPENED WHEN WE WERE SEVEN, SORA HIKARI SEIREN! DAMN YOU!" Riku jumped just as Sora turned and tripped the boy, which sent them falling back swiftly, only to land atop something other than the ground.

"GWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"YAHOOOOHYA!"

The sudden impact, followed by the sound, had the two teens looking at Donald and Goofy. The two shook themselves to their senses, and were met with Sora and Riku's bright colored eyes looking down upon them. Donald righted himself first as the two teens looked at them, and Goofy took a deep breath as he watched the two teens move back to where they could sit up. The Court Magician and the Captain of the Knights looked at the other teens who were coming over, and then took a moment to finish righting themselves. Donald sighed, and then looked to Sora and Riku.

"What are you two up to this time?" the two glanced at one another.

"Nothing at all…"

"Uhuh…well the five of you need to get to the King's study – we have a job for all of you," Donald stated.

"What?" the Court Magician stood.

"We have a new mission for all five of you! Now get going!" Donald summoned a thunderbolt, which struck near the ground of all the teenager's feet, which had them bolting towards the castle and towards King Mickey's study.

"Gwarsh, do you think that was a little bit much?" Donald tapped his foot.

"Grhmmm…"

"Donald?"

"Teenagers!" with that, the duck marched off towards the castle.

 **{….}**

 _I was left to my own devices, many days fell away with nothing to show…._

 **{….}**

Author's Note: And so begins an interesting rewrite of Kingdom Hearts: Re: Coded. This is a midquel before we get to the biggest parts of the stories. If you're coming in on this part, please let me tell you that this is a series, so, please go to this title:

 **Kingdom Hearts: Krone**

If that Title is not up yet, then go to this one:

 **Kingdom Hearts: Cypher**

Hope you love the stories. Please leave a review; I really like to hear what readers think of the stories, and on where I can improve the story. Please don't flame the stories, it's actually very rude. Please critique it.

Also, yes, I did put Sora back to thirteen for his first adventure, but it had to be done for the timeline.

Preview:

"We're doing what?"

"You're going directly into the computer."

"And…we're dead, we're dead, we're dead…"

Chapter 2: Zeros & Ones


	2. Chapter 2: Zeros & Ones

Chapter 2: Zeros & Ones

 **{October 3rd 2013: The King's Study: 11:00am}**

King Mickey Mouse watched as Chip and Dale set up the devices that the chipmunks had gotten from a contact in another world. They were strange white objects with what looked like a visor that went over the eyes, and rested around the head. Chip had explained what the device was, and what it did, but he honestly had never seen anything like it before, and was both curious and concerned. The mouse King looked at the five objects settled on the table, and Dale explained a bit more about how it worked to the King to assure him it was safe, but they would need to keep the five Keyblade wielders within the same room, and watch them carefully to be safe seeing as they weren't sure what these devices could truthfully do.

"Oh…are you sure?" the two chipmunks nodded.

"You can trust these two who gave us these devices. They're experts, and are heroes in their world for stopping two people who trapped a lot of people in a virtual reality. We know what to do if something happens, and we've been asked to contact them if something goes awry, or if we're not sure if something is supposed to happen," Dale explained.

"Yep! We trust them fully!" the King nodded.

"Very well. I suppose that…"

Before he could speak any further, the five Keyblade wielders walked into the room looking a little out of breath – whether from Donald casting a Thunder spell on them or the brooms, the King wasn't sure – however, he now had new concerns cast upon him as he looked at the teens. Sora he wasn't entirely concerned about, but he did wonder what the boy would face once inside the journal's digitized reality, and then his thoughts drifted to Riku, who was another concern: they would see his former darkness, and it would be a potential reopening of old wounds. His mind then went to Kairi, who had no memory of Sora's adventure as they were about to see it, and then his mind went to the two newest additions, and what this could potentially do to them. Roxas and Namine had never been on any adventures before, and it did stand to cause a reason for caution. This wasn't a fun field trip like the one they'd just gotten back from, but a full-scale battle within the digital world – Sora had walked in the digital world before alongside Tron, but that wasn't the same – nonetheless, they were out of options, and the mouse King was concerned they would be out of time soon as well.

"You're here," said King Mickey.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Donald and Goofy said you needed to see us?" Dark eyes looked into sky-blue, and the King smiled.

"I have a new mission for you," the King stated.

"What do I need to do?" the others looked a little surprised as they listened.

"Well, this isn't like other adventures you've been on, Sora, but you're not going alone," King Mickey explained.

"Let me guess: Kairi, Riku, Roxas, and Namine are tagging along as well?" Sora didn't sound even the slightest concerned – in fact, he sounded rather excited.

"Yes, but this is something all five of you need to be briefed on first. I can't let you just jump headlong into this without a word of warning," the King informed them. This caught their attention: if the King was worried, they needed to tread lightly.

"What's wrong? Is Xehanort involved in this?" Sora's tone became cold as he said the name of the person Roxas and Namine had only briefly heard of.

"Xehanort? As in _Xehanort Erebus?_ " asked Namine.

"Yes, but I don't believe he's involved in this – at least, we haven't been given reason to think so as of yet – but this is dangerous, and something we haven't done before." The five teens looked at the table where the chipmunks were working.

"Chip and Dale? What are they doing here?" asked Kairi as she looked at them working.

"They're here to monitor the situation. Jiminy came to me earlier today expressing concern because he noted that the journal recounting more of Sora's first adventure had lost all of its writings, except for one page: the page about your awakening from the stasis you were in, Sora." the two blondes looked shocked by the statement.

"You were in stasis?" asked Roxas.

"Well…I lost all my memories, so this guy – DiZ – he restored them, but I had to be asleep in order for him to do that. I was gone for a year…so Kairi, Riku, Donald, and Goofy came to get me." The two blondes eyed him.

"You were asleep for a year?" inquired Namine.

"Yep….I'm not that bad off, though. I have my moments, but none of it is from him restoring my memories." Riku cleared his throat.

"Minus you dream walking," Riku stated.

"Oh yea…there is that…" King Mickey laughed a little.

"That's some pretty strong magic, but we're off topic. Jiminy was reading through the first of the journals and ended up in a bit of a problem: the second journal with the single page pulsed, and a new entry was added," King Mickey told them.

"Whoa, back up! Did you seriously just say that a new entry was added to a journal that only had a page filled in it by a pulse of energy?" Sora looked at Roxas.

"This shouldn't surprise you," he stated.

"I know; you'd think after having a fish tail, flying, jumping through worlds, fighting heart-eating plushies, wielding a Keyblade, and joining a battle against the darkness, I would be more immune to these things…" Namine nodded.

"Agreed…" she muttered.

"It takes time to get used to all these forms of crazy." The King cleared his throat.

"Anyways, we've been trying analyze this journal, and have decided we have no choice but to send in some help via the digital world," King Mickey stated.

"How so?" the King looked at the table where Chip and Dale stood.

"Those devices will hook the five of you up to the computer and allow your minds to travel into the virtual world," he stated.

"Oh, that's not too bad…." Sora looked to Roxas.

"Wait…." Namine glanced to Kairi and Riku.

"WE'RE DOING _WHAT?!"_ five of them yelled in what King Mickey could only account as disbelief; Sora, on the other hand, appeared rather calm about the situation.

"You're going directly into the computer."

"And…we're dead, we're dead, we're dead…" Roxas started mumbling this as he tried to rationalize the situation, but found it impossible.

"We have no choice, we have to send in the five of you to help one of the people that are already inside the journal in clearing the worlds and fixing the problems. Otherwise, all the data will be lost forever," King Mickey clarified.

"Great, I'm going to become a digital code now…" Roxas looked rather displeased by the notion, but Sora merely laughed.

"This isn't anything! Trust me! The digital world can be kind of fun," Sora stated as he looked at them.

"Define _your version of fun_?" the chestnut-haired teen rolled his eyes.

"You'll be fine, and besides, Tron might be in there running around – he doesn't just sit inside the Hollow Bastion computer doing nothing – he tends to jump from computer to computer," he mentioned off handedly.

"Okay…who's Tron?" the teen jumped to face the others.

"Tron is a friend, a program created by Ansem the Wise to help Hollow Bastion, and to keep his research safe. All the same, if Tron is anywhere in the mainframe, he can get to us and help as well," Sora concluded.

"That may not be a bad idea to seek him out whilst in there, Sora. Anyways, I want to get the five of you set up and prepared to go into the computer."

"Wait…who are we meeting? And where?" asked Roxas.

"We'll know when you get inside, and we'll be able to watch you through the monitors, and with you all physically here, we'll be able to keep an eye on your bodies, in case something were to happen." The blonde paled.

"I feel as if a few years have been shaved off my life span," he muttered.

"Na, life expectancy isn't a common denominator in the virtual world!" Sora draped an arm around his shoulders with a smile.

"Why do I feel like Tron is as much of a troll as you are?" Roxas inquired.

"Because he has a funny side, but he fairly practical most of the time." Riku looked at his childhood friend.

"And this is where I would normally bow out to avoid being dragged into hijinks, but I seem to be out of stage exits," he said.

"You'll live. Now, we need you to get these on, and we'll need you to lay down, and be prepared to be in there for a while." The five of them nodded just as Donald and Goofy came in.

"Ah, Donald, can you summon something for them to lay on other than the floor?" asked King Mickey.

"Of course, Your Majesty!"

Donald waved his staff, and the five of them watched as a series of what almost appeared to be clouds of some kind appeared. Namine looked at them, and then with a smile, jumped up onto the object with a happy giggle as she landed in the soft, comfy plush that had appeared. Roxas eyed it, before looking at the others as Kairi, Sora, and Riku followed Namine's example, finding themselves fairly comfortable – but floating a bit off the ground – as they looked at Donald, who beamed at his summoning of the objects, while Roxas eased his way into the cloud and sat there as well.

"What are these?" asked Kairi.

"They're a type of summon. It's an air-based magic, but they do come in handy. They'll keep you five safe and comfortable, so you aren't forced awake by the floor being so hard. You'll need to focus, so being more comfortable should help." The King nodded in agreement, and Sora stretched a bit as he looked to Roxas, who appeared a bit unsure of the situation.

"Why are you so timid?" Sora questioned with a deadpan expression.

"Excuse me for being cautious, I've had enough insane things already try to eat me since coming here." The chestnut-haired teen laughed and fell back against the cloud a bit.

"You do know there are rules with being a Keyblade wielder, right?" Roxas looked at the other.

"Like what? Don't get eaten by plushies?" the others laughed a bit, and Sora shook his head.

"No! One of the biggest rules I can think of is one of the smaller ones _: face your fears_." Roxas stared at Sora for a moment.

"Face my fears? Why? What does that have to do with this mess we're about to get into?" he asked. King Mickey looked at the others – telling them not to say anything – and watched Sora's reaction.

"Well, Keyblades are fickle, and they don't like people with weak hearts. If you're strong of heart, and tackle your obstacles and fears head-on – then the Keyblades will become easier for you to wield." Roxas looked at his hands.

"Okay…I get what you mean there..." Chip, and Dale came to the King.

"Your Majesty! Everything is ready!" Dale stated.

"Alright, put your visors on." The five Keyblade wielders took the visor objects and fitted them over their heads to where the visor area was over their eyes, before looking to the others.

"Now, lay back, and we'll get you patched into the system. In just a moment, you'll be inside the system, and once there, you'll start out at the beginning of the journal's original first entry," Chip said. Sora paused.

"The Stations of Awakening…" King Mickey looked at the boy.

"That's where all this started?" he inquired.

"In my dreams…" the King nodded.

"Then that's where you'll all begin: at the Station of Awakening where Sora began his adventure," he said.

"Alright, see you guys back in reality," Riku said. With that, the five of them laid back, and closed their eyes, prepared for whatever would end up rearing its head, now that they were heading into another world. Chip pressed in what looked like seven codes of some kind, and the button to his left lit up green.

"We're in business! That last series of codes took care of rewriting Sora, Kairi, Riku, Roxas, Namine, and the person that will meet them at the Station of Awakening," Chip stated.

"Rewriting?" Chip looked to Donald, who appeared concerned.

"Yep! We rigged it so that they can use their Keyblades," Dale said. As soon as the words left him, an alarm blared, startling everyone, and causing the five Keyblade wielders to jump a bit.

"Are they okay?" the two chipmunks nodded.

"It's fine. A binary code probably got distorted because of the hacks we used. We'll go check it out, and be right back!" with that, the two chipmunks took off.

 **{Fifteen Minutes Later…}**

Chip and Dale hopped back onto the desk, and King Mickey, Jiminy, Donald, and Goofy looked at them as they held up a small book, and typed in a few codes while the alarm finally ended. King Mickey glanced at the others, who were still unmoving from where they had been once they'd been hooked into the system. Chip typed in another code, and frowned as he typed in a few more codes, and a beep sounded as the button flashed red.

"We need their names, and the names of their Keyblades," Dale stated.

"Okay, Riku Hirigaya, Way to the Dawn." Chip typed in the following, and a small icon of a black heart with a red outlining appeared on the screen.

"Each of these icons are going to represent our Keyblade wielders, but we will get to see them on the main monitor. With each icon, we have a meter that tells us if they're experiencing any problems, and will also track their current health, and their health after they've gotten somewhere. We've set it up like a game, so that in certain areas, they can be healed, if needs be," Dale informed them.

"That's probably a good idea…"

"We need the next set of names," Chip clarified.

"Namine Olamayne, the White Kingdom Key." Chip typed it in, and nodded.

"Roxas Lyster, The Bronze Kingdom Key," King Mickey stated. After typing in the words, the chipmunk looked at the King.

"Okay, who's next?" Goofy looked to the Keyblade wielders.

"Kairi Misaki, Destiny's Embrace," he said. King Mickey smiled, and then glanced at Sora.

"Alright, now all we have left is one more, and we'll be set."

"Sora Seiren…."

"I better give them a little extra fire power. Sora and the others are strong, but we don't know what they'll face…"King Mickey thought.

"Your Majesty?" asked Chip.

"Oathkeeper and Oblivion." The three who knew the names of those Keyblades gave the King a stunned look as Chip typed in the names.

"Alright, in just a moment, they'll be loaded into the system, and we'll see them appear on the monitor," stated Dale.

The group looked to the screen on the left, where a series of icons appeared beside a small photo of each person. The top was a picture of Riku from the shoulders up in different attire with what looked like a piece of Keyblade armor on his right arm, next to him was a black heart with red outlining it. His name, and the name of his Keyblade, appeared under his photo, and next to him was a meter of some sorts that was green, and formed a loop, followed by a line that was smaller, and blue on the line of green that went out a bit further. The next picture was of Namine, done the same way, but wearing a white shirt with a blue ribbon on it that was held together with a blue lotus flower that held the ribbon together in an X-shape at her chest, with a piece of Keyblade armor on her left arm, a pale-blue lotus icon appeared next to her, while the rest followed the same scheme of Riku's.

"There's Riku and Namine," said Goofy.

"Where's the others?"

"Oh, there they are," stated Chip.

A green X-shape that favored Roxas's pendant appeared, with a picture identical to Riku and Namine's in length appeared just below Namine's own, with the gage beside it. His attire looked a bit different, as they also took note of the orange-toned Keyblade armor piece on his right arm. After his appeared, Kairi's showed up. Her attire had also changed, a piece of Keyblade armor on her left arm in purple visible, as a pink star appeared beside her image. Once her gage loaded, the others sighed in relief, and then Sora's image appeared, and a white crown appeared next to his image as his name was written in, and under it, the names of his Keyblades. Once more, Sora's attire appeared changed, and a blue piece of Keyblade armor appeared on his right arm. The people watching the monitor looked them over, and Chip smiled.

"They're all in, and we should see them appear on the main screen soon," the chipmunk stated.

"Good…"

"So, uh, your Majesty….what is it we're doing exactly?" asked Goofy.

"Oh! Somebody wrote a strange message in Jiminy's journal. And the only way to find out who is by analyzing the book."

"What does the message say?" asked Donald.

"Their hurting will be mended when you…."

"Look! Here they come!" Jiminy alerted the group as they turned their attention to the screen.

"Here we go," said King Mickey as he watched the five Keyblade wielders touch down on Snow White's Station of Awakening.

They looked at the differences of the group as they stood there, eyes closed, awaiting the full link-up with the system to reach them as they prepared for the next journey. King Mickey eyed the clothing that the system had given them, and looked at their symbols. Riku's attire had stayed similar, but had gained a few details, such as a band of pale yellow at his waist, held on with a belt, and his black-and-red heart icon, and his shirt and vest had been inverted, while his pants had turned black. On his right upper arm at the shoulder was a piece of Keyblade armor, accented in yellow with touches of black. They looked to Namine next, who wore a pair of white and pale blue boots that stopped at her ankles, a pair of pale yellow shorts, a white tank-top with a pale blue trim, and a deep blue ribbon held in place with a pale blue lotus flower at her chest. She wore matching deep-blue wrist bands, and Keyblade armor on her right arm in yellow, white, and blue.

The next change they were drawn to was Roxas: most of his normal attire hadn't changed, except now, the white parts, except for his jacket were dark red, his shirt was strapped like Namine's with dark blue, and his pendant holding it together, while his under shirt was black with a red line going sideways through it. His sneaker straps were dark blue, and no longer red; and on his right upper arm was Keyblade armor in orange, silver, and gold. Then, there was Kairi and Sora's changes. Kairi was in knee-high pink, black, and white-lined sneaker-boots, pink shorts under a black skirt with deep purple armor, an open-from-over shirt of the same colors as her boots, a black tank-top, a yellow band on her upper right arm, a white one on her wrist on the same arm, and on her left, a pink sleeve with purple and silver Keyblade armor. Her shirt was crossed with purple ribbon, and held together with a pink star mark.

"Well, those are most certainly not what I expected," muttered Dale.

"True, but, the program doesn't know what they're currently dressed in, so it gave them new appearances."

"Hmm…interesting that it gave them Keyblade armor," stated King Mickey with a faint hum of thought.

He eyed Sora's appearance that favored his typical attire. The pants were black, touches of blue at the sides, and lined in white, armor of blue and silver at the hip area, with red straps at the same area, a black undershirt with white lining and blue pieces on it, with a black jacket, lined in white with a hood. Red straps crossed at the front, and was held in place with his crown pendant. His gloves remained the same, and his shoes were black, white-lined with red at the toes and running up the sides with dark blue X-shaped straps with yellow rims at the tops. The Keyblade armor, worn on the right arm, favored Riku's and Roxas's, but was blue, silver, and gold. The five teenagers opened their eyes and looked around, not moving yet while they tried to see what their surroundings held.

"We can speak with them and direct them, but now, we have to wait and see who will be their next partner," Chip stated.

"Yea, and I think I know just the guy."

 **{…..}**

 _And the walls kept tumbling down, In the city that we love…_

 **{…}**

Author's Note: yep, I did change their attire, and though the changes may not seem all that significant to be spoken about, I think knowing what they look like and what they're wearing is important so you know if something changes. Sora and the others are meeting their new party member, and will begin this adventure.

I won't blab, but I look forward to seeing what you guys have to say.

Preview:

"We're dead…"

"Would you shut up?"

"Why?"

"Because, someone's here!"

Chapter 3: Database


	3. Chapter 3: Database

Chapter 3: Database

 **{11:30am: Within the System}**

The group of five teenagers looked around the circle of stained glass beneath their feet to see where they were, and what their next move would be; however, there was nothing but a black void of nothingness, and because of that, they found themselves standing in the center of the Station of Awakening, and tried to put everything together. Sora knew that all they needed to do was wait for the stain-glass stairs to appear, and then they could go to the next area. Yet, for now, that wouldn't be happening. Sora looked at the others, and sighed.

"We need to wait for the staircase to appear," he stated.

"Staircase?" Sora nodded.

"Yea…" Roxas looked around him.

"This is insane! I don't even know where we are, or how to get off this station," the blonde boy said as he looked around.

"Well…like I said, if you want to get off the platform, you have to wait till the staircase appears." Sora looked around, and Namine eyed the others.

"Why did our clothing change?" she asked.

"I doubt the computer knows what our clothing looks like." The others nodded as they looked at the piece of armor on their arms.

"What is that?" Roxas touched the pieces a bit, and Kairi looked at the one on hers and Namine's arms.

"I think this is Keyblade armor," she stated.

"Why would the computer give us Keyblade armor? There's no mention of it in Jiminy's journal." Sora looked at the blue piece of armor on his shoulder before looking at the small bit of light shining down from the darkness.

 **"Hello? Can you hear us?"**

"Wait….was that the King?" asked Namine.

 **"Listen, you're waiting on one more person."**

"There's five of us, though! Why do we need someone else?" questioned Riku.

 **"You're odd numbers, you need even ones in order to have partners for each other. Sora and Kairi are programed to link up, Roxas and Namine are the same, and that means Riku needs a partner."**

"Why do we need partners?" Sora inquired this, and the voice paused.

 **"There will be some things in this version of the worlds that will require more than one person. Also, once they arrive, I will have Chip explain what you can do here, okay?"**

"Alright, and then what?" Sora knew what happened next in his dream, but he wasn't sure how accurate it would be.

 **"From there, you will begin searching the worlds and fixing the data. Chip will explain more,"** the King's voice stated.

"Okay…but where is this person coming from?"

 **"They're already inside the journal, and will be here in a moment."**

The five teenagers waited as they tried to see where the person would show up. A few of them considered it possible that they would show up from the Station of Awakening they were settled on, and others believed it possible that they would show up with some sort of door or portal, but it was when the only faint shadow present on the station had a small click of footsteps come from it that Sora tensed a bit.

"We're dead…what were they thinking? How can humans even be in the digital world?" Roxas's question had a few of them considering the same thing, but none of them were quite capable of doing much more than questioning who or what would happen.

"Would you shut up?" Sora snapped. The others jumped.

"Why?"

"Because someone's here!" he stated as he stepped back a bit from the shadows, and the group settled together and prepared themselves for a potential enemy.

"Who's there?" the figure moved a bit.

"They said someone in the journal would help us, right?" asked Kairi.

"Yes, but we don't know if this is them, or if it's one of the enemies inside the journal."

"Did you face something from the darkness this soon?" questioned Riku.

"Yes…it was mainly Heartless, but, the journal may not re-enact the details entirely because it was a dream."

"Okay…but…" another step forward.

"Come out where we can see you!" demanded Riku as he kept himself tense.

The person stepped out of the shadows, and the group felt a bit of confusion go through them. Standing there was a boy around thirteen or fourteen years old with dark brown, messy, and spiked hair, tan skin, and sky-blue eyes. They wore a red jumpsuit, a white, blue, and black half jacket, yellow shoes, and white gloves. The boy before them tilted his head in confusion as he looked at them, and then their eyes landed on a familiar pendant. Three of the people present looked faintly confused, and that left the two blondes more than concerned.

"Who…"

"Wait…."

"Sora?" asked Kairi. The two blondes looked at the boy, who gave them a confused look.

"Did you just call him…" Namine started.

"Sora?" Roxas finished the question, and Riku nodded as he stepped forward.

 **{Disney Castle: Real World: 12:01pm}**

Upon the left hand screen, directly under Sora, appeared an icon from nothing. It was a blue heart outline with curves at the top that went inward, and atop the heart was a gold crown. A gauge appeared, and then a small icon image of the person next to it. It was a brown-haired boy in a red jumpsuit with a white, blue, and black jacket, and white gloves. King Mickey looked the boy over, and then smiled as the others looked at the image as Chip and Dale eyed the two images of the chestnut-haired teen, and the brunette side by side.

"Is that Sora?" Donald jumped.

"Sora is their guide, he's their best bet to survive this," the duck stated.

"Gwarsh, they look confused…" the group looked at the main screen where the five teenagers were standing, and in front of them stood the boy from the icon image.

"Great, this will confuse them," stated Dale.

"How so? They don't really favor that much." Dale shook his head at his brother.

"No, I mean they'll both respond to someone saying Sora," he said.

"Oh golly, you're right….well, they'll think of something." Donald and Goofy glanced to one another as King Mickey looked at the group standing on the Station, and then to the icon screen.

Everyone's images were present, alongside a symbol icon for identification; however, the King hadn't taken time to check every single one. His eyes glanced to Riku's at the top, noticing his image, his symbol, followed by his name, the name of his Keyblade, and his meter. King Mickey then checked Namine's, which was next, and found it the same, but with a pale blue lotus symbol instead of the black and red heart. After that he checked Roxas's and Kairi's, before settling upon Sora's, which appeared the same until his eyes fell upon the meter. Below the meter were six colored orbs: one blue, one red, one sunset colored, one gold, one purple, and one dark grayish-black. All six of them had the number three done in the same color under it, which caused him to raise an eyebrow.

"Chip? Dale? What are those orbs under Sora's meter?" he asked.

"What?" the two chipmunks looked at the objects, and the group awaited their answer.

"I've never seen that before. Did they just appear?" questioned Dale.

"Hmm…does Sora have any underlying abilities that favor the colors?" the King paused to think about the question.

"Actually, yes, he does," King Mickey stated.

"What?" the King nodded.

"Sora has magical based abilities known as Drive Forms. They vary with different types of abilities, and have several uses. I think he has only four though…" Donald, and Goofy looked at the King.

"He said he had five," stated Donald.

"Five?" Chip, and Dale looked at the orbs.

"I'll put the cursor over them and see if they tell us anything," Chip said as he moved the cursor and looked at the orbs.

The blue orb made a small click noise as the cursor was held over it, and it lit up with gleams of blue light around it. Chip and the others looked at it to see the words _Wisdom Sprite_ appear when the cursor was held over the object. Looking at one another, Chip looked at next one, and did the same where in red writing above it stated _Valor Sprite_. After that the next ones that followed stated _Limit Sprite, Master Sprite, Unknown Drive, Unknown Shadow_. King Mickey stared momentarily at them, and then eyed the screen, before glancing to Sora's form that had appeared on the screen. Taking in a deep breath, the King looked at the group, and then back to Chip.

"Give them the mission; it'll be up to them to tell the data-version of Sora what's going on," King Mickey said.

"Your Majesty? Why would he need to know what's going on?" the King looked to his court magician.

"Well, this version of Sora doesn't know who we are, or who any of these people are. This is a digital version of Sora, who is new to the world, and doesn't even know what a Keyblade is. Therefore, the others will need to know the details in order to help him, but he is still Sora, so, I don't think we need to worry about him requiring a rundown of how to use a Keyblade," King Mickey answered.

"Alright, here we go!"

 **{Digital World: 12:15pm}**

The group looked at the young boy standing before them while they tried to reason what was happening. Standing next to Kairi was Sora, but standing before them was also Sora. Roxas shook his head, and Namine raised an eyebrow as Riku stepped forward and looked at the smaller boy in front of them, who had an equally confused expression upon his face. Roxas glanced at Sora, and then at the smaller teen in unsureness, as he heard the sixteen-year-old Sora breathe in a heavy sigh.

"There's that mind fuck I was looking for…." Riku looked at the smaller version of his friend, who stared up at him in questioning before humming in thought.

"I thought you would be used to those?" muttered Namine.

"Nope, they're never the same…"

"Well…" Riku stated. Sora glanced at him, and glared.

"And here it comes…"

Riku looked between the two, and smirked as he stepped back, and then glanced once more between the younger version of his friend, and the sixteen-year-old version. He acknowledged the fact that the sixteen-year-old Sora was glaring with a form of venom that was strangely staggering with how kind and warm Sora's eyes could appear; however, they were in a digital world, and had just been given a severe slap with the – what they assumed – digital version of Sora.

"Nice to see not much has changed," Riku said.

"Do you want to die?" cyan eyes looked at sky-blue.

"No, but you really aren't much taller," he mentioned. Sora narrowed his eyes.

"Riku, I don't think we have the same abilities that we have in the real world." The silver-haired teen looked him over.

"What do you mean?" questioned Roxas.

"I mean I don't know if we can use Keyblades, spells, or some of our own abilities." Namine looked at the younger version of their friend.

"You have a point…." The chocolate-haired teen looked them over.

"Who are you guys?" he asked. Everyone's attention turned to him.

 _"He sounds just like Sora used to when we were kids….but is he a digital version of Sora?"_

 **"Hello? Can you hear me?"**

"Who's there?" the brunette boy jumped a bit in confusion of the voice.

"The King!" the group's cheer seemed to ease the digital version of their friend a bit.

 **"Since you're all here, I'll have Chip explain some details on what you can and cannot do, and also I will explain your mission here,"** the King stated.

"Okay, what's going on?" There was a small beep of a microphone, and then Chip's voice came forth.

 **"This is fairly basic. We set up the system like a game; you can level up, gain abilities, and items that will help you along the way, and store them where you won't have to keep them physically on you the entire time. Now, I also have several safe points around the worlds set up where you can save your data, and check your inventory. Hold up your left hand, and swipe it down, a screen will come up in white for you to check your data."**

Everyone followed the instructions, and a white menu screen appeared on the left. It was fairly simple and straight forward in how everything was listed: level, items, company, weaponry, specialty items, and current status. The group nodded and dropped their hand which vanished the screen before looking at **the area around them again.**

 **"Alright, now, let me explain what you have in here. The details I just told you are the basics for how this world will work. Now, I will explain something you need to do first: form a unit with one another, and team up with the following people,"** Chip stated. The group pulled the screen up again, and clicked company before looking at the four options that appeared on the screen: _add partner, form a company, remove partner, and remove company._

"What do we do next?"

" **Click add partner, and then you'll see a list of the people with you, alongside their icons, and status is a green cross – you'll hit that once you do, you'll form a company with everyone,"** Chip explained this, and the group looked at the roster.

"So who are we paired up with?" asked Kairi.

 **"Sora and Kairi, Roxas and Namine, and Riku and the data-Sora are the teams. Once you've clicked on your partner, click agree to partnership, and then a question will appear once you've done that to ask you to form a company, click the green cross. If your icons appear in front of you, take them in your hands, and form a circle. Once you've done that, it'll form a crest that acts as a tracker, the tracker will allow you all to keep an eye on one another, and will appear somewhere on your clothing."**

Everyone followed the guidelines, and then the group took note of the icon that appeared in front of them. Each took the icons in their hands: Sora's white crown, Kairi's pink star, Namine's blue lotus, Roxas's green X-shape, Riku's black, and red heart, and the data-Sora's blue heart with a small golden crown. They stood next to their partners in a circle, and the icons floated up, and formed a crest that was based in a circle of dark gray their crests formed a circle around another crest that favored a heart, but was more rough cut, and had a star point at the bottom instead of a smooth drop. The crest appeared over the hearts on their attire, and the group looked at the item piece of metal, and the strange form of the center crest.

 **"The center of your crest is the Mastery Crest, and it's because you have two Keyblade Masters in your group. Now, let me explain something about what you can do, and what you are limited with."**

"Alright, we're all ears," stated Roxas. Admittedly, he was unsure of this situation, but at the same time, he was strangely excited.

 **"Firstly, let me pull out your first ability we hacked."**

There was a sound similar to bells and metal clinking as familiar weight fell into their grasps. The sudden sensation was surprising to them as they looked at the Keyblades that appeared in their grasps, and then to the data-Sora, who was holding the Kingdom Key, and looking both confused and concerned.

"They got us our Keyblades!" Namine said in relief.

"Yep, now, show me that they're all there, state they're accounted for, and I'll move onto the next."

"Way to the Dawn is fine," Riku stated as he stepped away and swung the Keyblade a bit.

"Destiny's Embrace is the same as well."

"Wait…Namine? Your Keyblade is different," said Kairi as she looked at her sister.

The Keyblade in Namine's grip was blue, jagged, faintly pointed in two areas in the same directly of the teeth. The chain was gold, with a snowflake at the end, and the teeth itself was a blue, and gold snowflake as well. Stumped by the appearance, Sora stepped forward, and looked at the Keyblade before smiling in faint relief.

"That's not my Keyblade…." Sora nodded.

"It's a new one, I guess it hacked itself into the system. This is Diamond Dust, a winter Keyblade I got a hold of in my first adventure after facing the Ice Titan. I figured it would work well for you," he stated with a bright smile.

"Okay, so Diamond Dust is accounted for."

Sora held up the two Keyblades in his grasp, and took a moment to look the Keyblades over. Oathkeeper's pristine, angelic appearance with Kairi's lucky charm at the end of the keychain, and then there was Oblivion's shadowy, demonic-gothic appearance with his crown pendant on the keychain. Taking a deep breath, Sora looked at the area around them before glancing back at the Keyblades.

"Oathkeeper and Oblivion are perfectly fine," Sora said in a faintly uncertain tone.

"Roxas?"

"Yep, we're good!" he stated. The data-Sora looked at the Keyblade in his hand.

"What is this…." Sora walked over to the data-version of himself, and looked at them.

"This is the Kingdom Key, and while it's a data version, it's important that you keep up with it. You'll be fine," he said. Blue eyes looked into identical ones.

"Are you….me?" Sora smiled a bit.

"Kind of….you're a digital version of myself from when I was thirteen."

 **"Alright, from here, you'll all be going through the paces of Sora's adventure. I wish you all the best, because the details may vary, depending on how complete the journal's original entries are. There are several worlds you will be seeing for the first time, and once again. I hope you're all prepared for this."**

"Well…where are we…."

A sudden chill of discontent went through the six of them as they spun on their heels and looked at the black cloaked figure standing before them. Sora's body instantly tensed, knowing what the cloaks meant, and feeling an increase of displeasure from seeing them once again. Riku and Kairi felt the same tension as Sora, who had tightened his grip upon Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Nothing short of pure malice radiated off the chestnut-haired teen; which left the others feeling anxious, and nearly ill to their stomachs as Sora kept a stern glare on the cloaked person, with Kairi and Riku bracing themselves for a potential battle.

"Who are you?" Sora snarled as he crouched a bit, and prepared to attack.

There was no reply as the person turned away and neared the edge of the Station of Awakening before the stain glass staircase began to manifest, and they ascended it in a rushed fashion. The six people were left stunned as Sora kept a sharp glare on the figure as it met the final step. Glaring again at the area, the chestnut-haired teen straightened and vanished Oathkeeper, while Oblivion remained firm in his grasp as he looked at the others. It was as he looked at them that Riku stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down before you go up there. We don't need to rush recklessly into something," he said. Sora tensed, his body shaking in anger before a heavy sigh left him

"Yea, you're right…" the silver-haired teen nodded.

"Okay, let's stick together. If an Organization member is in here, then we need to be careful," Riku told the others as they started towards him.

"That was an Organization Thirteen member?" the silver-haired teen nodded.

"Yes, and they aren't to be treated lightly. Don't split up from each other, and don't drop your guards." Roxas looked at Sora as he started up the staircase, and then glanced at the data-version of Sora, who was treading lightly behind Riku, who was nearest to Sora himself. The blonde boy sighed, and then glanced towards the others, because he knew, right then and there, that they were in for a long, long adventure.

 **{….}**

 _Great clouds roll over the hills, bringing darkness from above…_

 **{…}**

Author's Note: Not much to say except there is more to come! Check out the other stories, and please leave a review!

Preview:

"What happens after you go through the door?"

"I go to the Destiny Islands…"

"And do we have to deal with our untold destinies while we're there?"

"Hahahaha…..very funny…haha…"

Chapter 4: Stations


End file.
